


Fluid

by PrinceSkylar



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DC Animated Universe, DCU (Comics), Son of Batman (2014)
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Comfort, Coming Out, Not really any plot, Other, Some Fluff, genderfluid Damian, supportive family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 14:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11946183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSkylar/pseuds/PrinceSkylar
Summary: His brother's noticed it, maybe not right away, but they noticed. Damian isn't always sly when he's having a crisis.





	Fluid

**Author's Note:**

> So I love trans and genderfluid headcanons and there really weren't enough for me when it comes to Damian. I'm a trans guy, so I'm not trying to be offensive at all!

Tim had noticed it first, really. He hadn't even really meant to if he were to be honest. He, out of all of them, valued personal space when it was needed so he was the last person to  _spy_  on anyone. But...it hadn't really started off as spying. Not intentionally.

He'd been leaving his room, a small pile of dirty bowls in his hands that had collected over the past week. He had zero clue where Jason and Dick were, though he imagined they were both somewhere in the manor causing trouble. Damian's room wasn't very far from Tim's, and as he passed the door he saw it was open half way which...made him pause and take a few steps back. Damian...never left his door open. Ever. It was a comfort thing for him, from what they all knew. Tim frowned a little bit and peered into the other's room, assuming that maybe the kid was just down stairs or something.

He was  _not_.

Damian's back was to the door as stood by his bed, folding laundry from what it looked like. Damian had a  _very_  picky way he liked his laundry folded, so this wasn't a very uncommon activity for him. But he wasn't actually folding anything, which is what made Tim tilt his head. Being mindful of the bowls in his hands, Tim carefully crept closer and peered in again, watching as Damian's fingers ran over...a shirt? No...

One of _Stephanie's_  shirts. The one she had left at the manor the last time she had stopped by to visit Tim, if he remembered correctly. Alfred had probably accidentally washed it with Damian's clothes, but Damian didn't seem..upset. Well, at least Tim figured he wasn't considering he couldn't actually see Damian's face. He saw his hands, though, and watched as Damian's fingers ran over the purple shirt with care, as if he was caressing something...delicate. Damian wasn't exactly a careful person to begin with, so watching the teenager handle the shirt so...gently made Tim's chest feel warm with...joy? Pride? Love?

Maybe all three.

Tim didn't linger any longer, though; this felt like something secret, especially if Damian was so distracted that he hadn't taken any notice of him yet. Carefully, and holding his breath, Tim crept past Damian's room and headed down stairs. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of it but he didn't think too hard on it when he found Dick and Jason in the middle of a wrestling match in the kitchen.

So, he went about his day.

Jason noticed it the second time, weeks later. The four of them had gone out one afternoon, much to the joy of Dick, the social butterfly. They were in the mall just minding their own business to pass the time. They'd been in and out of nearly every store they came across, though Jason would admit they had spent way too much time in all the candy stores. But hey, he liked candy.

They were walking through the center of the mall now, Damian pressed incredibly close to Jason's side with every step. Damian hated the mall, though mostly because he hated how many people swarmed around without any manners. Jason could understand that completely and had no problems with Damian sticking close to him. The kid had been pretty quiet for most of the trip which was nothing new, so Jason had fallen into conversation with Tim and Dick.

"I'm telling you, Jay, there's no way something isn't going on between them." Dick insisted with a shake of his head, looking up from his phone. How he could maneuver around through a busy mall without looking was something Jason still didn't comprehend.

Jason snorted, rolling his eyes. "I think we would be one hundred percent aware if Clark and Bruce were seeing each other, Dick. Bruce is no where near as sneaky as he thinks he is when it comes to us."

"I dunno," Tim chuckled, looking at Jason with an amused smile tugging at his lips. "They've been talking more, didn't you notice? They had lunch at some small diner down town last weekend."

Jason rolled his eyes again, shrugging. "Maybe they've been seeing each other for years and we're only just now noticing it."

Dick paused mid-step, blue eyes going wide. "That would make so much sense...you know what? We're gonna ask Clark the next time we see him because you know he doesn't lie to us."

"He's a softie and you wanna take advantage of his kind nature?" Tim mock gasped, a hand clutching his heart. "Mister Grayson, you monster!" It would have been more convincing if he hadn't started laughing mid sentence, of course.

Jason couldn't help but let a laugh rumble past his lips, looking over towards Damian to ask his opinion only to find that Damian...wasn't there. Jason blinked and paused, looking around. "Ah, damn it...go ahead of me you two. Lost Little Bat. We'll meet up in a few."

"You _lost_  him." Dick accused, whirling around. "Jason-"

"Chill, Big Bird." Jason waved a dismissive hand and flashed Dick a grin, hoping it would calm the other down a bit. "He probably saw a store he liked and he has his phone. If he was freaking out or anything he would be calling us. Go with Tim and go look at candles, I'll get Damian."

"Let's go." Tim chuckled and winked at Jason, taking Dick by the arm and leading him away, much to the older's irritation.

Dick definitely worried a little more than he needed too half the time.

Jason turned on his heel and made his way back the down the way they came, looking around for that familiar, usually scowling face in the crowd. There weren't really any stores around here that Jason could imagine Damian being interested in, but the kid was always full of surprises. With that being said, Jason was caught off guard to see Damian staring into the display window of a store that was, very usually, targeted at teenage girls. Jason cocked his head to the side and hummed a bit, walking closer to the other. He was about to call out to him or maybe throw a teasing remark his way, but the look on Damian's face made him stop dead in his tracks.

Damian's lip was caught between his teeth, and he looked...lost. Like he didn't know what to do with himself all of a sudden, and it made Jason's stomach twist a little bit in a way he really didn't like. He hesitated and ran a hand through his own hair, walking to Damian and throwing his arm around him. "You get lost, Dames?"

Damian stiffened almost instantly, rolling his eyes as he shrugged off Jason's arm. "Hardly. Do I ever get lost, Todd?"

"Well, no, but there's a first time for everything." Jason chuckled, casting a glance towards the display window to try and see what Damian had been looking at, but all he saw were mannequins in green, blue, and yellow dresses. Jason frowned a bit and then smiled at Damian, who had arched an eyebrow at him in irritation. "Come on. Tim and Dick are at that candle store Dick loves and we should probably get there before he spends a fortune on candles he hardly ever uses."

"Let him fill the void with candles." Damian snorted as he started walking, crossing his arms. "It's better than when he started taking in stray cats he couldn't care for."

"Agreed." Jason laughed loudly. He threw one more glance at the display window before he followed Damian, dropping the whole thing.

Dick noticed it the third time, naturally, and it had been a total accident. He'd walked into Damian's room to ask him a question, only to find that he wasn't in his room. Dick hummed a bit to himself and shrugged, plopping down on Damian's bed to wait for him, looking over at the stack of books that the teenager had on his bed. A lot of heavy reading, it looked like, which was normal. A magazine was sticking out from under one of the large hardcover books and Dick pulled it free, blinking in surprise. It was a magazine for one of the stores in the mall, one he'd gone to with Stephanie and a few other girls before. It was a girl oriented store, now that Dick thought about it. He couldn't imagine why Damian had the magazine in the first place, and it looked like Damian had been looking through it for quite some time.

Did Damian have a girlfriend he was buying things for?

Did Damian have a friend he was buying stuff for?

Dick chewed his lip in thought and then shot to his feet, shoving the magazine in his shirt as Damian came back into the room. The teenager blinked at him and tilted his head at Dick, looking more surprised than anything. "Grayson, why are you lingering in my room?"

"I came to look for you." Dick replied with a grin, shrugging. "I was gonna see if you wanted to watch a movie downstairs with me and the boys. We were gonna put on something funny, probably."

"Oh, no thank you." Damian murmured, walking past Dick to his bed. Would he know Dick took the magazine? Would be be angry?

"I have a bit of a headache and as much as I...enjoy movie nights, I fear Todd and you bickering most of the night will only make it worse." Damian added, looking over his shoulder with a small smile that he directed at Dick.

Dick smiled a bit, shrugging his shoulders again as he nodded. "Fair enough. The offer still stands if you change your mind, Dami."

Dick left Damian's room and pulled the magazine out from his shirt, eyeing it as he made his way downstairs. In the living room, Tim and Jason were throwing popcorn at each other and Dick paused to watch them, silently praying Alfred didn't get angry at them about it later. "Hey, mess makers, I'm gonna make you eat that stuff off the floor if you keep throwing it." He warned as he walked to the couch to stand in front of them.

Jason stuck his tongue out at Dick. "Like you don't eat food off the floor?"

"Do as I say, not as I do." Dick smiled brightly at them, using his Big Brother tone.

Tim snorted, shoving a mouthful of popcorn into his mouth. "Sure. What's with the magazine?" he asked, gesturing to the magazine in Dick's hand.

Dick hummed a bit and bit his lip. "I'm going to preface this by letting you know what I was in no way snooping around Damian's room. But, I found this tucked in between a big book, like he didn't want anyone to see it." He told them as he held the magazine out to them.

The two of them eyed the magazine and Jason arched an eyebrow, looking up at Dick again. "It's a girly store catalog. You should be glad it isn't what most teenage boys usually have."

"Well he was hiding it like he was scared we'd see it." Dick pointed out, huffing a little bit as he tossed it onto the couch and crossed his arms. "Think he's got a girlfriend he's trying to buy stuff for?"

"Dude, I don't think Dami likes girls." Jason pointed out with a bit of a softer smile tugging at his lips.

"Or people." Tim added with a chuckle, looking back to the magazine. He tilted his head a little bit before he paused and then looked up again. "What if hes not buying something for someone  _else._..?"

That was a thought that Tim had considered before, but he'd brushed it aside ages ago. It wasn't really his business when he saw Damian when Steph's shirt anyways...

Dick blinked in surprise. "What, like he's buying stuff for himself?"

Tim shrugged. "I don't know, maybe? I could be wrong so but he doesn't have a girlfriend...and I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a boyfriend because he doesn't go anywhere. But like I said I could be wrong."

Jason shook his head. "No...no remember when we all went to the mall and I lost him? When I found him again he was staring at the display window of some girly store, and I figured maybe he saw a cute guy or girl or even a fancy looking dog and got distracted, but when I looked over he was just...looking at the dresses."

Dick blinked again, uncrossing his arms. "Really...?"

Tim hesitated before he cleared his throat. "Stephanie left a shirt here the last time she was over. I think it ended up in Damian's laundry or whatever, cause he had it in his room and hes was just looking at it, I guess."

Dick nodded slowly, thinking it over as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well...I mean I wouldn't care if he was buying something for himself. Would either of you...?"

"What? Of course not." Jason scoffed, actually looking just a little offended that they even had to ask. He leaned back into the couch. "I wouldn't care."

"Neither would I." Tim agreed, biting his lip. "You think he's been trying to hide it from us cause he thinks we'd like...be upset?"

"No way." Jason sat right up again as he shook his head. "Damian knows we aren't like that. We won't care. He'd still be out little brother...or sister if that's what he decides, too." He stated firmly, setting his bowl of popcorn aside. "Maybe we should talk to Damian about it."

"Talk to me about  _what_?"

Dick's girly screech never got old.

Dick whirled around to see Damian step into the living room, eyeing all of them suspiciously. Dick hesitated and grinned a bit, rolling his shoulders in a lazy shrug. "Nothing too serious, Dami. Just...will you sit down for a sec?"

Damian looked suspicious, eyeing the three of them for a moment before his eyes landed on the magazine Dick had tossed onto the couch. If they didn't know him as well as they did they wouldn't have seen the small, barely noticeable way the younger teens eyes widened. It was a small movement, one that made guilt stab at Dick's rib cage. Damian shrugged, an act meant to look nonchalant, and made his way over to the couch and moved the magazine, setting it on the coffee table as he sat down. "Alright. I'm sitting, what is it?"

Jason and Tim were looking at Dick, expecting him to start the conversation like he usually did. He rolled his eyes and then cleared his throat, reaching over to scoop the magazine up off the table. "So I uh, saw this in your room."

"It was tucked between things," Damian nodded slowly, watching Dick's every move like a hawk. "Were you snooping, Grayson?"

 _Yikes_. The last name. So Damian was already feeling defensive.

Dick shook his head and smiled softly. "No...not on purpose, anyways. I saw it and I didn't know what it was until I grabbed it."

"Alright. Why is this the topic of conversation?" Damian asked as he crossed his arms, frowning now.

Tim sighed and sat up more, coming to Dicks aid. "Damian we've kinda...all noticed some things you've done recently. We don't mean that in a bad way at all though. We're just curious and we want to support you or...help you, if that's what you need."

Damian shot Tim something that...wasn't exactly a glare. It was heated but was far too defensive to be a glare. Tim stared right back at him, patient, and when Damian tore his gaze away the room fell silent. It was like none of them knew what to say or where to start and it was starting to get under Jason's skin. He cleared is throat and patted Damian's shoulder. "BabyBat, do you...wanna wear stuff like this?" He asked as he pointed to the magazine in Dicks hand. "Because that's  _fine_. We aren't going to think less of you or...be angry or anything. We just want to know the reasoning, so we can try to fix...language we use or call you something else if you don't want to be...referred to as a boy." He told him slowly, surprised by how easily those words came out of his own mouth.

The atmosphere felt tense, at least to Dick. He watched the way Damian stiffened, saw his lips tighten. Dick almost wanted to leave or make the conversation drop but he knew it was way too late for either option, and he knew that if they dropped it Damian wouldn't come to them about it  _at all_.

Damian finally sighed, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "It is...complicated. I don't want to be called another name or anything like that. But I...do not feel like I am...male...all the time. It sounds strange and I don't know how to explain it. Sometimes I just...do not feel like I am male."

"That's not strange at all." Tim murmured, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. When Damian looked at him, looking hesitant, Tim set a hand on Damian's shoulder. "Dami, that's fine. Gender is...more of a social construct than anything else. If you don't feel like a guy some days, then okay. We'll do whatever we can to support you."

"Yeah." Dick agreed with a soft smile, setting aside the magazine and walking over to ruffle Damian's hair. "Whatever makes you the most comfortable with being yourself is what matters."

Damian swatted away Dick's hand, though they could see a small smile tugging at his lips. He nodded and hesitated before clearing his throat. "...Thank you. I...I have been trying to find a way to explain this to all of you, but it was..difficult for me to process."

"We get cha," Jason assured as he leaned into Damian a little bit. He glanced at the magazine again before he grinned. "Hey, how about your favorite big brothers take you clothes shopping tomorrow?"

Damian blinked in surprise and hesitated, glancing at Dick. "What about Father? What if he-"

"Bruce won't think any less of you, Damian." Dick cut in with a soft, assuring smile as he shrugged. "I promise."

Damian still looked nervous, even though he agreed to go shopping. Truthfully, Dick didn't want to admit that he was nervous too. He knew, in his heart, there was no way Bruce would belittle Damian or reject this. Bruce wasn't  _like that_. Maybe it was just the older brother in him that couldn't stop him from worrying, but when Bruce had seen Damian in his dress that Tim had helped him pick out that following weekend, when Bruce had smiled softly and told Damian that he looked great, Dick was able to breathe a little easier.

**Author's Note:**

> This was kinda rushed so i apologize if it's bad.


End file.
